


Reversal Theory

by CosplayAdventures



Series: Reversal Theory [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Depression, Gen, Haruno Sakura-centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Strong Sakura, Survivor Guilt, Suspicions, Theres some angst eventually, Time Travel Fix-It, fluff too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2018-10-29 13:53:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10855338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosplayAdventures/pseuds/CosplayAdventures
Summary: "Sometimes all it takes is a push in the right direction. Other times, it takes an entire war to show how much everything went wrong."***The war took a turn for the worse in the last possible second, and it took all the strength in the alliance.With a little push, Naruto gives Sakura the chance to fix everything.She won't make the same mistakes twice.(Or Sakura goes back to the past to stop the future from happening)





	1. Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> After all the stories I constantly read about Haruno Sakura, I think it's about time I make some of my own. What can I say? I was inspired.

**_**Reversal theory** is a **theory** of personality, motivation and emotion in the field of psychology. ... Each domain consists of a pair of opposing values or motives, so that only one of each pair can be experienced in any given moment._ **

_\----_

 

_“Naruto, don’t you dare close your eyes!” There was black ash swaying down to join the ash on the burnt ground. Buildings lay in ruins, flames rose to the sky, clouds black from the smoke, and bodies lay in pieces all around the two still breathing. The sound of battle was smothered by the pounding of Sakura’s heartbeat in her ears._

 

_Sakura held her precious friend who she slowly grew up to adore with all her heart. He was the remaining light to this war, and he too was withering away like the rest. She wouldn’t be able to see his bright smiles on rainy days, or his sky blue eyes shining lovingly at her. She would be left alone._

 

_Alone._

 

_Everyone, one by one, died through this horrid war. And because of this war, Sakura lost everyone._

 

_Ino. That pig wouldn’t give up even if she was battered with bruises and half dead. Shikamaru and Chouji, they stuck to Ino’s side to the very end. They died as a team against their enemies, they died as a family, as heroes. All her other friends too, they stood strong. They had the will to fight._

 

_All because of Naruto. Oh Naruto. He was their way to victory. He was their shining light out of the hellwhole full of greed, hatred, and monsters hungry for power. Naruto told them that they were strong shinobi. This evil won’t stop them from accomplishing their dreams for peace._

 

_Peace seemed so far away now. Everyone was gone. Naruto lay in her arms breathing faintly._

 

_His heartbeat was slowing. They were the only ones left. Their team had broken so long ago. Kakashi went to fight Obito. That was a few days ago. He hasn’t returned yet and the worst outcomes came to mind._

 

_“Sakura…” Naruto’s voice was raspy and low, barely a whisper in the roaring winds in this war. Sakura stared at Naruto with wide, tear filled eyes. She was still trying to heal the large hole in Naruto’s chest. It wasn’t closing fast enough! There was too much blood flowing out! She couldn’t heal him. It wasn’t enough. Wasn’t enough!_

 

_A hand cupped her tear and dirt streaked face, smearing blood there in the process. “Sakura...It’s okay” Naruto’s eyes were dimming. His skin was dirty and bloody and his normal bright blonde hair drooped from the damped blood and ash weighing it down. His black and orange jump suit was ragged and torn, cuts and bruises littered the exposed skin she could see. She wasn’t faring any better either.“It’s going to be okay.” No it wasn’t… “Don’t give up, Sakura. You’re too strong for that.” His grin was weak, it wasn’t wide enough. He was losing the light in his eyes. His hand was sliding off her cheek. His heart was slowing- she could see it through the still large hole in his chest. “Naruto…” Sakura’s voice cracked. “Keep my dream living for me, dattebayo” A surge of red chakra was Sakura’s only warning before everything went white._

 

_Her body burned, it felt like she was being torn to shreds. Her mind was going blank, her body going cold before feeling numb, the loud ringing in her ears._

 

_“I love you, Sakura.”_

  


Sakura woke with a jolt. Her ears were still ringing and she was breathing heavily, sweat making her hair and clothes stick to her like a second skin. She felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest any minute.

 

 _Naruto..._ A lump formed in her throat. Instead of thinking of his dying face- the image was still clear in her mind- she focused on his words. “ _Keep my dream living for me, dattebayo.”_

What did he mean by that? Emerald eyes trailed along the familiar room she was in, hands clenching the soft sheets under them. Her mind was still foggy from her dream, so she didn’t recognize where she was immediately. She tensed. Was she kidnapped by the enemy? No, this room seems too home-y for a prisoner...Sakura frowned.

 

      She stared at the makeup scattered on the dresser near her. Why was there so much make up? Where were the weapons? The interrogators? The ninjas?

 

      Slowly, Sakura got out of bed. She hesitated as she walked over to the mirror, looking around suspiciously before landing on a reflection of a younger version of herself. With messy pink hair, large eyes, and childish features.

 

     She frowned and the mirror copied her expression. Odd. She was pretty sure she was 22 yesterday.

 

    “Sakura, sweetie! You’re going to be late to the academy if you don’t get up!” Sakura froze.

 

…..No way.

 

   The memory of her parents deaths during the beginning of the war floated through her mind at that second. She could still remember their cold bodies and blank deathly pale faces. She remembered screaming, she remembered Naruto holding her as she wailed from the pain it caused her to lose them, she remembered the way she crushed the enemy that took such precious people away from her life- Sakura clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. The tears stung at her eyes.

 

   Whoever was foolish enough to put her in this genjutsu will understand what true pain will feel like. First things first, remove the genjutsu. After the amount of training she had with all her friends, she could do this much. Genjutsu was her specialty after all.

 

   She breathed in slowly before exhaling, closing her eyes. Flaring her chakra and forming the ram seal she mumbled, “Kai” and waited for the sound of war to hit her again. She waited a few more seconds. A few more minutes. Nothing happened. Maybe it was a strong Genjutsu, thickly layered. She remembered another way to get out of this.

 

     If she remembered correctly, Sakura had a few kunais that her father had bought her for practice in a box somewhere in her closet. She opened her closet to look “aha!” It was a bit dull, but it would work. Forming the hand seal she yelled, “Kai!” and stabbed her thigh with the kunai. Clenching her teeth, she looked around.

 

   It didn’t work! This was either some powerful Genjutsu or she was actually 11 years old again...Sakura frowned at the absurdity of Time Travel. Was it even possible? Well...with the right amount of chakra and seals, then it could be- “Sweetie? Are you okay, I heard a yell.” Her Mother’s voice startled her out of her musings with a soft knock. “H-hai! I just tripped. I’ll be ready in a few seconds!” She replied quickly, biting her lip as she pulled the kunai from her thigh. She held her hand over the wound to stall the bleeding. “Alright but hurry up, you’ll be late to the academy.”

 

   “Okay!” She stared at the gash on her thigh with narrowed eyes. She barely had any chakra at this age in her past. She was what? 10? 11?! No one had a large amount of chakra at this age unless they were a prodigy. Especially her with her civilian background...

 

   She closed her eyes and focused. She imagined reaching out for her chakra, grasping it and pulling it to her hands. She molded it to wrap around her hands before she summoned healing chakra. Opening her eyes, she saw her hand glowing a faint green. Yes!

 

   She only had enough chakra to clog the blood before her chakra dropped to dangerously low levels.

 

Damn it.

 

   Panting, she wobbled over to her bathroom, thank god she had her own, and grabbed some bandages. She’d have to practice on expanding her chakra reserves if she’d ever want to get back to how she used to be. It’s going to take a lot of training, but she’ll get there.

 

    She wrapped her thigh before stripping out of her pink Pajamas. She minus well take a shower to feel better. She was exhausted. A nice hot shower is just what she needed and if she was a little late for a classroom full of all her dead friends come back to life (and also younger), well….She wouldn’t mind waiting a little longer. To see them alive and healthy would make her happy, but they aren’t _her_ friends. They didn’t know her that well. Besides Ino of course. Her heart clenched at the thought.

 

   With a content sigh she slipped under the hot water, relaxing tensed muscles in the process. It’s been so long since she last took a warm shower. With the war going on, there was no time for full showers or baths. There were too many of the wounded to heal, too many people dying. There were too many enemies to fight off in the process so there wasn’t enough time to sleep either. She grimaced. There was no time to relax right now, she had work to do.

 

**But there’s no war right now.**

 

  Sakura froze. That’s right. At this age, they were in peacetime. There was no war. Everyone was still alive. She could fix _everything_ before it even happened.

 

  With a new burst of energy, Sakura jumped out of the shower to get ready. She ran to her closet for some clothes  before immediately cringing. She had multiple dresses, mostly red with the Haruno symbol, but they were definitely not good for a Ninja.

 

   With a huff, she opened a few drawers to see if she had something else. Something more appropriate for a ninja...something not so noticeable to the enemy. Hmmm...Aha! Here! Sakura grinned as she pulled out black ninja pants and a navy blue, long sleeved shirt. The pants was a bit big on her small frame, but it was perfect for her. She remembered her father buying her some ninja clothing,but she used to think that it would make her look less feminine. She was too skinny, plus Ino wouldn’t have approved of such clothes! Now, she was grateful that she didn’t throw it away.

 

  Pulling on her shirt and slipping into her pants, she observed her reflection. Her hair was damped and sticking to her face, her skin was a deathly pale- probably from using nearly all of her chakra for the first time (in this time), and her pants looked a bit baggy at the bottom. Her shirt fit loosely around her body which made her look thinner than she actually was. She looked more fragile than she’d like to admit, but it wasn’t anything some hard training couldn’t fix.

 

  Grabbing some white wrappings, she wrapped it around her ankles and pants- and more on the wound on her thigh. Just in case it reopens while she’s walking around. This should keep it from causing her to trip. No need to look like a weakling...

 

   With a short sigh, she slipped on her dark blue ninja sandals and smiled. She was ready for the long day ahead of her.

 

   Combing her hands through her hair-she would cut it short later, she headed to the kitchen. She probably should befriend Naruto first. Or would that be too suspicious? He was the jinchuuriki in this time and no one liked him, except Iruka-sensei and the Hokage. Oh Naruto...He went through so much. He gained the respect of the entire village and other villages too and for what? To die and not achieve his dream? No. Sakura clenched her fist. She would befriend him. Then she’ll get everyone else.

 

“Sakura!” Her mother’s shout made her jump and instinctively grab for a kunai, just to realize that she didn’t have any on her. _Note to self, get some weapons after school._ Sakura stared at her Mother with wide, alarmed eyes. She looked over her mother to check for injuries but found nothing. She sighed and relaxed her stance-She didn’t even notice she crouched into her battle stance...how embarrassing. Red faced and flustered, she smiled at her mother apologetically. “Hai?” Her Mother stared at her daughter warily, surprise evident in her light brown eyes.

 

“You changed your outfit?” She spoke exasperatedly. She must have been talking to her and asked this question already. With a sheepish smile Sakura replied, “Yeah! If i’m going to be a ninja, i need to take things seriously! Silly outfits and makeup isn’t going to get me better at getting stronger.” Sakura grabbed an apple out of the fruits basket, taking a bite before walking towards the door. “I have to go though, so I’ll see you later!” She ran out the door before her Mother could reply with a sad smile.

 

She was happy to see her mother. Really. But it still hurt to be close to her Mother when she knew she was supposed to be dead in her time. With a shaky breath, she calmed down. This was no time to cry or mope. She had work to do!

 

Inhaling her apple and throwing the rest away, she sped up her walk into a sprint. Sakura swiftly passed people and carts, taking sharp turns and short cuts. She avoided looking at all the smiling faces. It only reminded her of the wailing civilians from the war in the future. Of what might happen to them...

Swallowing down the lump in her throat, she dashed through the alleyways. It was better than listening to people act all happy and fearless. They have no idea what’s coming their way. Sakura slowed down her sprint into a slow walk. She just realized the throbbing on her thigh. Ah, she most likely just opened her self-inflicted wound.

 

With a tired sigh, Sakura walked the rest of the way to the academy silently. There was no need to rush.

 

Closing her eyes, she listened to the birds chirp and the leaves rustle from ninjas passing by. There faint breeze soothed her into a calm state as she took in the sound of her surroundings. This is how it was always supposed to be.

  
And this is how it was going to stay. She would be damned if she let others suffer a second time.


	2. Not so weak now, huh?

**_“There’s only one thing more precious than our time and that’s who we spend it on.” -Leo Christopher_ **

 ~S~

Sweat dampened Sakura’s hands as she stood in front of Iruka’s classroom. She could hear his muffled voice through the door discussing shadow clones and how to use enough chakra to make one. All her precious friends are in there... _alive._

She bit her lip as she reached out to open the door, shoving the nervous whispers that she wasn’t ready to see everyone yet. She knew she wasn’t but that wasn’t going to stop her from seeing them anyway. Sakura slid the door open nervously nearly flinching when all eyes turned to her. Iruka blinked in surprise. She was never late before, so he assumed she was sick. Although...he frowned as he looked her over. She did seem startlingly pale.

 

“Sorry I’m late sensei, it won’t happen again.” She bowed a bit. Everyone was still staring at her and it took all her willpower not to turn around and walk right out the door. She refused to look at them. “I’ll let it pass this time but don’t let it happen again.” He’d ask what happened when class was over, she could tell by his undertone. “Hai, sensei.”

 

She hurried over to the back row, passing by a smug Ino who sat next to Sasuke. She ignored them. Sitting by Shikamaru (much to everyone’s surprise), she folded her arms on the table and leaned her head into them. Sakura hadn’t realize how much it would hurt being surrounded by her dead-alive friends. They looked all normal and happy. Not war hardened or anxious like she was. Sakura grit her teeth as a million thoughts flew by her head. She could feel a few stares still on her even as Iruka continued where he left off on his lesson. Sakura was probably acting weird to them.

 

She breathed deeply. Her nerves were going haywire with the amount of people in the same room as her. She was having a hard time pulling the instinctive thought of “surrounded by enemies” with “surrounded by friends” in her head. It was leaving her twitchy with every movement she saw or sensed.

 

So she focused on her mission instead.

 

_Befriend Naruto._

 

He didn’t have anyone. Sakura’s eyes trailed over to the mess of blonde hair a few rows down from where she sat. He was snoring as he slept, drool pooling on the table. She wanted to fix so much for him. Get him a family, make everyone realize how special he is, get people to respect him, make him hokage.

 

Of course, it’s going to take time.

 

She only had a year left before everything would go to hell.

 

Sakura let out a tired sigh. She didn’t have enough time, but she would try. Sakura began tapping her fingers against the desk as her eyes trailed over to the others. She would have to make everyone closer too...the difference in their clans made them drift away from each other once they had their own teams. War didn’t make it any better for them. Trust was hard for war hardened shinobi even if they knew each other during the academy days.

 

Then there was Konoha. It had a lot of secrets, awful secrets. Like the Uchiha Massacre for example. She knew what happened (she was the Hokage’s apprentice, so she had access to all the files that concerned Konoha). She frowned. If anything, she would have to show her talent in order to gain the attention of ROOT. Then she could join and- someone snapping their fingers in front of her face snapped her out of her thoughts. Sakura blinked and stared into narrowed pale blue eyes.. Sakura blinked owlishly. She hadn’t really class ended for lunch.. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking about _my_ Sasuke-kun, forehead. You know you don’t have a chance!”

 

Sakura’s face twisted painfully for a second before going blank.

 

Sakura stood from her seat and began walking towards the door, “Do whatever you want with him, Ino-pig. I have better things to do.” She ignored the surprised looks she received from everyone, including Ino who gaped at her.

 

“Hey Sakura-chan! Wait up!” Sakura stopped where she stood in front of the school. She swallowed as she glanced over her shoulder to the loud blonde running over to her. He had a wide grin on his face as he stopped in front of her, rubbing the back of his head. A nervous tick that she remembered him using a lot. “Wanna go get some ramen with me?” He glanced away as he asked. If Sakura wasn’t as observant then she would have missed the way he tensed, ready for rejection.

 

Sakura frowned. She really hated her old self sometimes.

 

“Sure.” Naruto whipped his head to her direction, eyes wide. “Really?” Sakura smiled at him, which made him blush, and nodded her head. “Of course. I’m a bit hungry, and I haven’t had ramen in a really long time.” Which wasn’t a lie. She hadn’t had Ramen ever since the war began. Substituting actual food with food pills since she never had time to eat. Let alone hang out with friends.

 

Naruto grinned his thousand watt smile, chattering about all the types of amazing ramen she could try. Sakura smiled fondly as she followed him to his favorite place in all of konoha. She really did miss her blonde knucklehead, even if he wasn’t _her_ blonde knucklehead.

 

 ~s~

 

“-and then I was like bam! And that dumb ninja fell right into my trap and it was so funny! You shoulda seen his face, dattebayo!” Naruto slurped his ramen happily as he chattered on about his latest prank against some random Chuunin. Sakura listened with a fond smile as she swirled her miso ramen around. She really missed Naruto. It’s been a long time since she actually got to listen to him rant about something so small without a care in the world.

 

She slurped her ramen, sighing softly. She wished Naruto could stay this innocent and safe forever (at least as safe a boy hated by his own village could be), but she knew she couldn’t allow that. He grew stronger because of everything he went through. He learned from them and he grew up to become someone even greater than everyone ever thought possible. So...she couldn’t change _everything._ Some things just have to happen. Like the mission to wave. Sasuke gained his sharingan and Naruto gained the respect from the entire village in wave. He even had the _bridge_ named after him for Kami’s sake.

 

“Hey Sakura-chan?” Sakura hummed as she glanced at Naruto. He looked over at her thoughtfully. “You seem different-not in a bad way though!” He hastily added when she raised an eyebrow. “I mean..You’re a lot nicer, not that you weren’t nice before but you don’t hit me as much anymore! And it’s like you’re a whole different person from yesterday, y’know?” Sakura raised both her eyebrows this time. She didn’t think it was that obvious, nor did she think he would catch on. He’s much more observant than she thought.

 

Sakura hummed. “Maybe I got tired of being mean to someone who doesn’t deserve it.”

 

She didn’t look at him when she was done. She didn’t notice the way his eyes widened or the flash of hope that shined into them.

 

An unbreakable bond formed then.

 

~s~

 

When they arrived back at the academy, Naruto stuck to her side like glue. She supposed her words really meant a lot to him.

 

They sat in the front row, whispering to each other while everyone else stared incredulously. Whether it’s because they’re together or because Naruto is actually whispering for once, no one would know.

 

Sakura and Naruto seemed to be arguing about a new prank that could work on a jounin. To Sakura, it was a way to get Naruto to improve his trap making skills, so they could use it during missions.

 

Or the chuunin exams.

 

They both paused in their argument when Iruka entered the classroom. He seemed surprised to see them sitting together, but he smiled at them anyways.“Alright class, it’s time for Taijutsu practice. Get into groups of two-only one group of four and head outside.” Sakura and Naruto glanced at each other and grinned. It was obvious who they were going to chose. Sakura used to hate being stuck with the blonde, so she normally decided to chose Hinata (she didn’t have any sparring partners half the time), but now she was glad. Naruto was a natural power house, and he didn’t know how to hold back. That was just what she needed to push her body to it’s limits (which wasn’t much right now). “Let’s get Kiba-san and Hinata-san into our group as well.” She pointed at the only two other students in class who didn’t bother to get up and get partners. Sakura knew that hinata would be too shy to choose a partner herself, and Kiba didn’t really get along with anyone since he had Akamaru.

 

Naruto looked confused at her choice but shrugged anyway. He didn’t really mind as long as he got to train. Sakura smiled before heading over to hinata first. “Hey, Hinata-san!” The dark haired girl jumped slightly and stared up at Sakura with wide eyes.

 

“Want to join our group?” Sakura gave Hinata a bright smile while pointing at Naruto, who was bouncing slightly where he stood eager to go train. Hinata flushed red before nodding nervously, she didn’t trust herself not to end up stuttering and embarrassing herself. Sakura motioned Hinata to follow her before she turned on her heel to walk over to Kiba.

 

Kiba was still sitting in his seat nearly falling asleep with Akamaru on his head. It nearly made her snort when Kiba jolted awake. Kiba narrowed his eyes at the three, “What do you want?” he huffed.

 

Sakura rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. “What does it look like? We want you to join our group!” Wasn’t it obvious? Hinata looked at the floor nervously while Naruto crossed his arms, squinting his eyes at Kiba. He didn’t exactly hate the boy, but they didn’t get along too well. Kiba smirked, “As if any of you weaklings could beat me.”

 

“What did ya say ya bastard?!” Naruto yelled, pointing at Kiba as if he just made the biggest crime in the entire world. The blonde always did exaggerate with everything he did, Sakura mused. Hinata bowed her head lower, she already knew she wasn’t that strong. While Naruto continued yelling at Kiba, who argued back, Sakura stood stock still with a smile on her face. Sakura really despised that word. She could see Hinata shuffle away from her peripheral vision. The vibes rolling off her body was a bit intimidating to the poor Hyuga. “Well,” The boys had stopped the second they felt the waves of calm anger radiating off of the rosette.“If you think we’re so _weak,_ inuzuka-san, then let’s take this outside. I’ll show you just how weak I am.” Her smile sharpened, walking straight out the door with Hinata following quietly.

 

Hinata was curious. When they were partnered to train together in Taijutsu, all Sakura did was swoon over Sasuke with his other fans. She never bothered with practicing since she believed it would make her all sweaty and disgusting. Now Hinata was actually going to see what Sakura could do.

 

“Hey! Wait for me, Sakura-chan!” Naruto whined. Kiba followed after with a confident smirk. Everyone knew Sakura was a fangirl, and she didn’t really train that often during practice. He knew he could win this easily. But, Kiba eyed the way Sakura walked, she seemed different today. He hadn’t seen her in Sasuke’s crowd of fangirls today. Sakura seemed more graceful, sneaky even. It was weird. Like a switch just flipped in the middle of the night and a whole different person was walking in front of him.

 

Hinata sat down with Naruto, face red at how close she was to him. She looked at him from behind her bangs, glad that he was too focused on the battle to see her staring at him. She flushed darker in embarrassment. She didn’t want to seem weird, but she was really relieved to be in this group. So close to Naruto. A small smile graced her lips before she turned her focus on the two in front of her. Naruto wasn’t the only one looking forward to this fight. Kiba was brutal in his fighting style, and he wasn’t the type to hold back against anybody. Even if he was up against a girl.

 

Kiba and Sakura stared each other down fiercely. Strategies and plans were whirring in Sakura’s head while she counted down the seconds. At this age, Kiba was impatient and overconfident. He would most likely be the first to attack and Akamaru would be there to attack right after. She could see Akamaru shirking slowly around her. Sakura shifted so she could face both of them. She had faced multiple appointments at the same time before, this would be nothing new. Just...easier. They had no experience with gruesome battle like her.

 

The wind breezed through her hair slowly. Everything grew silent for one tense moment for Kiba pounced. He threw a punch towards her face which she barely dodged. That definitely would have hurt, she mused, stumbling back. She winced. She hadn’t realized just how unused to taijutsu this body was.

 

“Don’t start spacing out now, or you’re gonna get your ass kicked!” Kiba taunted. He launched toward her, fist raised. Sakura let her instincts take over, dodging Kiba’s punch, if not a bit clumsily, before jumping into the air to avoid Akamaru who snapped his jaws at her leg. She scowled at the lack of fluidity from her dodges. Sakura wasn’t exactly bad right now since she didn’t get hit yet, but she was just so _slow._

 

She avoided training that morning since she was late for one, and to avoid looking suspicious. As if she didn’t seem suspicious enough with sudden change of attitude and appearance.

 

She hissed when Kiba landed a kick across her cheek, sending her stumbling to the ground. That was going to leave a _major_ bruise by the time this was over. She sent a scathing glare Kiba’s way when he smirked. She _so_ wanted to wipe that smirk off his face with a chakra enhanced fist, but she knew better.

 

Instead, Sakura jumped up and sprinted towards them, rolling under Akamaru when he jumped forward; the gravel dug into her back when she rolled, but she ignored it in favor of getting into a crouching position.  Sakura didn’t give them the chance to prepare themselves as she swept her foot under Kiba, simultaneously grabbing Akamaru when she spotted him in her peripheral vision.  Sakura held Akamaru down by the throat, ignoring the stinging pain as his sharp claws dug into her skin in an attempt to remove her hand from his throat. She held her hand against Kiba’s throat as well, hand acting as a kunai for now as she glared down into his wide brown orbs.

 

He was tense, surprised. He did not expect to lose. Especially to a _fangirl._ Kiba went limp in her grasp.

 

“I yield.” He grumbled.

 

Sakura only smirked down at him. “Not so weak now, huh?” She only laughed when she got a grumble in reply. She let go of Akamaru, patting his head as an apology for being rough, and stood up. Sakura held out a hand to kiba, who reluctantly grabbed it, and helped him up. “That was fun! Let’s train together more often” She beamed.

 

Kiba turned his head away, cheeks tinted pink. “Whatever. Next time, i’m going to kick your ass!”

 

She smiled in response, “I’ll look forward to it.”

 

When Sakura turned to look at Naruto and Hinata, she was startled to see her other classmates near them, staring at her in shocked silence. She blinked. “What?” she questioned nervously.

 

Had she shown too much?

 

Naruto tackled her into a tight hug, yelling her ear off about how cool she looked when she fought against Kiba and she looked like a goddess, and he wanted to fight her too!

 

Sakura laughed again, “I didn’t actually think I was going to win. I guess I have my instincts to thank for that.” Which wasn’t technically a lie. Her instincts had years to mold for survival throughout war. It was hard to hold back half the urges to end the battle as fast as possible. The first thought was to cripple the enemy before they could do anything, but Kiba wasn’t her enemy. He was her friend, and she couldn’t hurt him like that.

 

Sasuke’s fangirls were glaring daggers at her. “You’re just trying to show off to get Sasuke-kun’s attention!” They wailed at the thought of Sasuke looking at Sakura with interest.

 

Said boy was staring her down with a scowl in place. Sakura’s hand twitched.

 

“Hn. Annoying.” Sakura sucked in a sharp breath, anger boiling in her veins. He never got tired of calling her that, did he? How did she ever find him so interesting? He was just an arrogant boy with a stick shoved up so far up his-she exhaled slowly and smiled at Sasuke.

 

“The feelings mutual Sasuke-kun.” She took pleasure in seeing him twitch with irritation. Naruto cackled next to her.

 

“Alright everyone” Iruka placed his hands on his hips. “Get back to work!”

 

Sakura turned her attention back to her group after everyone left. “Okay! Kiba, you’re paired with Hinata. Don’t give me that look, Hinata! You’re strong enough to fight him! Naruto, you’re with me. Then we do a free for all and fight each other at once.”

 

“Hell yeah, dattebayo!”

 

Today wasn’t too bad if Sakura was being completely honest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I realized that the ending was a bit boring. Honestly, I was planning on adding more, but it's been long enough. Here's the second chapter! Hope you guys like it.
> 
> Also, yes. I added some hints of possible shipping. There will be more as time goes by but for now, Sakura will not be shipped with anyone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, this chapter is SUPER SHORT.
> 
> I won't be able to get on for a while so I wanted to post this quickly. I mean, hey, it's better than nothing. Soooooo
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

“What are you doing?”

 

Sakura landed a sharp kick on the training dummies back. “What does it look like?” She panted, glancing at the blonde from the corner of her eye.

 

Sakura was in the training grounds next to the Academy. Normally, Naruto along with Kiba and Hinata would join her to train, but they were busy today. Hinata had stuttered out that she had clan training with her father, and Kiba told her he had to talk to his sister about something important. Naruto wanted to stay, but she knew he couldn’t miss out on his daily meet ups with the hokage. Sakura didn’t mind since he promised to be there tomorrow to train, he wouldn’t miss it for the world. Sakura smiled inwardly at the memory.

 

Ino’s face twisted into an annoyed scowl. “Training obviously. But why?” Ino was glaring daggers at the rosette in front of her, placing her hands on her hips. “If it’s not for Sasuke-kun, then why are you training?”

 

Sakura landed a hard kick into the dummies side, smiling wryly at Ino. “Are you really asking me why I’m training?” She wiped some sweat trailing down her forehead. “Ever thought that maybe I’m trying to get strong, so I don’t end up dying in a mission? I’m not exactly ninja quality right now.”

 

Ino’s glare grew harder. “You’re not even a ninja yet! Besides,” Ino looked over the girl who she used to consider her best friend. “You’re sensei, when you get one, will teach you how to defend yourself. Why are you pushing yourself so much right now when you’re going to get help anyway?”

 

Sakura sighed, standing straight. She was soaked in sweat, which she would’ve cried about her first time around at this age, but she couldn’t really bring herself to care. The more she sweats and aches, the more she’s improving. “Why wait until then when I have time to train now? It doesn’t hurt to start  early, you know.”

 

Ino scoffed, staring Sakura down with calculative eyes. Ino didn’t want to think Sakura just randomly changed in one night. It’s obvious that something had happened, she could tell. Sakura’s attitude isn’t even insecure anymore. She moves with fluid grace that she never had a few days ago. “Why the sudden change, forehead?”

 

Sakura gave her a sad smile. 

 

Ino hated it.

 

“I had a big eye opener, Ino-pig.” Sakura dragged a hand through her hair. “I’m just tired of being considered weak, you know? I want to get stronger so everyone can stop looking down on me.”

 

Ino wondered when all this even happened. She knew Sakura used to get bullied before but not about her strengths. Unless she’s unaware about that. She narrowed her eyes. Sakura always did take everything to heart. Ino was sure people didn’t consider her weak. Not after that battle with Kiba. She had potential, and Ino knew that. Even if she was envious about it.

 

Ino straightened her back. “Let me train with you.” Sakura blinked at her, wide eyed. “What?” Out of all things, this was not what she expected Ino to demand. Maybe the sudden change in attitude, sure. But training with her? 

 

Ino crossed her arms and looked away, “You heard me billboard brow.” Sakura’s lips quirked into a small smirk. Well, if Ino wanted to train with her, she sure as hell wasn’t going to stop her. It made things easier really. Not only will she build up her old friendship and rivalry, she was going to get Ino stronger. 

 

Ino didn’t last long in the war. She used to care more about her looks than her training, even though she was definitely not weak for a kunoichi. She just wasn’t strong enough to last. Sakura could see Ino’s pale, dead eyed stare behind her eyelids, and she swore  _ never again. _

 

_ “ _ Fine. I need a training partner anyway.” Sakura moved away from the training dummy to face Ino. “Taijutsu only for now. We can add more stuff after.” Ino mimicked the smirk on Sakura’s face. “Fine. Bring it on, forehead!” 

 

Sakura grinned. “I’m not holding anything back, Ino-pig!” She lurched herself forward, laughing at the high pitched shriek that left Ino’s mouth. “You didn’t even say go!!”

 

~S~

 

Sakura stared up at her ceiling blankly. 

 

_ It hurts... _

 

**It’s supposed to.**

 

 She just started training a few weeks ago, this is normal. Sakura grimaced as she shifted onto her side to stare at the scrolls sprawled all over her floor and dresser.

 

This time around she was going to learn everything she could get her hands on. 

 

Sakura wasn’t going to let everything repeat itself. She couldn’t. She would never forgive herself.

 

With a groan, Sakura crawled out of bed and over to her scrolls on her desk. She wasn’t going to be able to sleep any time soon ( _ “Sakura…” they groaned. Their cold hands grasped for her arms, torso, legs and they held on tight, digging their nails into flesh. “We needed you...Where were you?” They were dragging her down. She felt heavy and she couldn’t breath shecouldn’tbreath “where were you?!”  she couldn’t save them sheletthemdieand-)  _ Sakura breathed in sharply, shuddering lightly when she let the breath out.

 

Pulling up a scroll about the secret arts of Fuinjutsu from Uzumaki Mito (which she found mixed up with other basic scrolls accessible for to be gennins  _ and isn’t that just crazy? The chunnins at the library sure were slacking.  _ It almost made her disgusted that they were even labeled as ninja. What if someone got their hands on it?  _ Someone like her? Or someone far worse...),  _ Sakura began reading _. _

 

In the other timeline (which was what she was going to call it because it was just too confusing to keep saying future or past.) she had been curious about fuinjutsu, but she never really got into it. It was Naruto’s skill, and she didn’t want to seem like a copycat…

 

She scoffed. That was stupid of her now that she thought about it. Who cared of what they thought? It was her life. If she had pushed herself to learn, then she could have created a seal that she could have combined with her medical ninjutsu or even her  Byakugou. It would have saved thousands of lives in a single instant and-

 

Sakura paused.

 

She blinked.

 

Almost immediately, she gasped and stumbled out of her seat with a loud “That’s It!” before immediately clamping her mouth shut after remembering that she was the only one awake in her home, and her Mother definitely did not like being startled awake. She was a terrifying women when she wanted to be.

 

She quietly shuffled through her scrolls (and promised herself that she would definitely clean up and organize everything when she had the time.) and pulled a few medical scrolls along with some seal based fuinjutsu scrolls up onto her desk, pushing the unneeded scrolls to the side.

 

Sakura rolled her bottom lip between her lips as she read each scroll. She needed to know if it was even possible to create a seal that could connect to more to one person and heal them in battle. Was such a seal ever created before? She would have to search through a few history books based on fuinjutsu and medical jutsu.

 

She yawned loudly, eyes flittering over her scroll before looking out her window. 

 

It was almost dawn. She was exhausted but she couldn’t sleep now, her mind was working in overdrive. Whenever she had worked at the hospital, this was how she got. She forgot about everything else and just focused on the task in front of her. During that time, Naruto used to barge in just to complain about her unhealthy obsession with overworking herself (She had snorted because who was he to talk? He was even worse than her!), then he proceeded to drag her out of the hospital to eat ramen with him (she hadn’t gone back to the hospital the entire day in the end).

 

Rolling her shoulders and cracking her back, she dived back into the world of fuinjutsu and medical jutsu.

 

_ I won’t let anyone die a second time...Over my dead body, CHA! _

  
  
  
  



	4. Nara Time - Shining with brilliance I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru finally makes an official appearance!

The usual buster of the village was silent in the early hours of the morning. The only sounds that were recognizable were the sounds of hooting and the crickets hidden at night. No one would be out to notice the blur of shadows running on rooftops, or blotchy creatures scurrying through the alley ways.

 

“Any sign of her?”

 

“No, sir.” The reply was short and to the point, void of any emotion. The stranger gave a low hum, tapping his cane (also his best weapon of surprise) on the ground. Two more figures appeared from the shadows. “If she continues to hide, then we’ll wait until to comes out herself. Do not pursue her.” She will seek me out when she is ready.

 

The masked shinobi disappear back into the shadows, leaving the man alone once more.

 

“Do not keep me waiting, Haruno.”

 

A long suffering sigh escaped Shikamaru’s lips as he made his way through the Nara forest. It was seriously too early for this. It was nearly 3 in the morning and he didn’t even have to get up until another 5 hours. Why was he doing this again?

 

Oh, right.

 

It was his mother’s idea. Troublesome women. He could be sleeping in his comfortable bed right now dreaming away under warm, soft blankets until he felt like getting up. But he could never have his way. Why? Because his mother decided to rip him out of his warm blankets to go check out suspicious activities in the Nara forest.

 

He wasn’t stupid.

 

He knew that there were specific clan members with this sort of job. And he wasn’t tired enough to notice the shine of mischief in his mother’s eyes. He knew that look far too well.

 

That was the look of a women on a mission. Normally that involved girls like Ino.

 

With a groan he trudged the rest of the way to an open field. Nothing seemed off to him. The grass was still just as long as yesterday, the flowers laid on touch, the lake was still there…

 

But there was someone lying in his spot. A deep frown tugged at his lips. Why was there a stranger in his spot? What’s worse was the fact that it wasn’t even a relative he knew. They probably weren’t even a nara.

 

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he dragged his feet the rest of the way across the field only to freeze. He’d recognized that shade of pink anywhere. How could he not? He was pretty sure that she was the only one in the village with pink hair. Not even her parents had that shade of pink (if his observations during the academy proved him right).

 

There weren’t many ninja with flashy appearances. Mainly because they always died off for being so noticeable.

 

Sakura laid in a curled position with her arms wrapped around herself to preserve whatever heat she had left. Her hair was sprawled out around her like a blazing pink halo, and if he guessed right she had been there for a while.

 

Shikamaru’s mind was whirring with questions.

 

Why was she here of all places? Why wasn’t she home where it was warm? How did she not get caught from the patrol moving through the Nara forest?

 

He was brought back to reality when Sakura stirred, groaning lightly. Shikamaru froze in place when he noticed something disconcerting.

 

She was injured.

 

She hadn’t been hugging herself to preserve heat, she was putting pressure on a sluggishly bleeding gash on her side. The blood covered her arms and soaked through her thin shirt, it made him feel nauseous to look at.

 

“What happened?” The words were out of his mouth before he could even stop himself.

 

Sakura huffed, sitting up with a wink. She wasn’t that out of it to not notice his flabbergasted (if not suspicious) gaze on her wound. She couldn’t blame him, if she were her past-self, she would be wailing from the pain and making a seen over something so small. Well...small to her. She’s had worse.

 

Sakura smiled, “I ran into a trap on the training grounds.” She shrugged.

 

Shikamaru rose an eyebrow. “You were training...at this time?” She grinned sheepishly, which was enough of an answer to him. He rolled his eyes and stood, “Come on. I can get Kaa-san to patch you up.” Sakura could’ve sworn she heard him mutter “Troublesome women.” under his breath and it made her grin wider, a bubble of fondness swelling in her chest.

 

She remembered their time together during the war. They were assigned to the same base that was in need of a strategist and a medic. Who better to choose than Sakura and Shikamaru? At the time her old base didn’t need anymore medics, the shinobi there had healed and went back out to fight.

 

They were both still grieving from all the lost from the war. Shikamaru and Sakura had blood on their hands that wasn’t really their fault, and they consoled each other. Shikamaru needed to be reminded that he wasn’t the one sending people to their death bed, and Sakura needed to be reminded that she couldn’t save everyone.

 

They weren’t gods.

 

They were each other’s support when things would become too much. They were each other’s distractions.

 

So they grew close. Sakura sighed wistfully, missing the times where she could forget all her problems and focus her attention on Shogi with Shikamaru.

 

But she couldn’t do that now. This Shikamaru wasn’t hers, and she couldn’t run away from the problems in her way. She had to face them head on and fight her way to the top.

 

She wasn’t a weak little girl anymore.

 

“Oh, Sakura-chan!” If she weren’t trained to be immune to surprises, she would have jumped. Sakura blinked over at Shikamaru’s mother, watching as she rushed over to her. “Ah, Nara-sama. I apologize for the intrusion.” Yoshino tsked her tongue, looking over Sakura’s battered form. “What happened?”

 

“She fell into a trap in one of the training grounds,” Shikamaru spoke for her. He scoffed at his mother’s expresion; it was exactly the same as his when Sakura told him how got injured.

 

“Well!” Yoshina smiled, “Let’s get you patched up then. You can tell all about how you fell into that trap” _You can tell me what really happened._

 

Sakura smiled back, “Of course.” _I can’t._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. "Finally! An update!"  
> I was planning on posting it on New Year's day buuuut then that would be shorter than I already have it...so here it is after the gruesome months of not having time to actually work on this (School is hard okay). Hope you guys liked it!
> 
> Also, this is only part 1 of Shikamaru and Sakura. I won't promise that this may be a possible ship (because honestly? I ship everyone with Sakura soooo), but they will be BRILLIANT friends. Brilliant.


	5. Move With The Current and You Won't Drown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danzo finally makes an appearance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear the next chapter will be way longer! 
> 
> I would have made this chapter long, but my brain just won't function properly. Writers block is such a paaaain!
> 
> But oh well.
> 
> Any who, a certain person had brought up the idea that more than one person came back in time and I just fell in love with the idea! It hadn't crossed my mind before, but I'm gonna use it! Thank you guys for the suggestions and encouragement. I don't think I would have posted so soon (probably would have posted months from now).

Sometimes Sakura really wondered if this second chance of hers wasn’t really just her punishment in hell. To watch everything before her repeat itself or to try and change everything only to watch it smack her in the face.

 

It was going perfectly well in the beginning. She had all her friends united and together, she was gaining back her strength and most importantly...Naruto wasn’t alone anymore. He had people who cherished him. That had been all he ever wanted, it was his reason of wanting to become Hokage. 

 

“ _ I’m gonna become hokage, dattebayo! That way everyone can finally acknowledge me!” _

 

She once thought about it as impossible. How could a dead last become someone so important to an entire village? They can’t. But Naruto made it possible. He brought hope to everyone during the war, including herself. 

 

_ “Can you see it Sakura-chan?” She blinked up from her spot on the burnt ground, they were in the middle of a fall back in their war. Both sides backed off to heal the wounded and prepare for the next attack. “Feel what, Naruto?” Her voice didn’t sound like her own anymore. It was too raspy, used too much for yelling at her fellow medics to get their crap together and heal their troops. Naruto’s blonde hair swayed with the dry breeze. It was longer now, and Sakura could have sworn he almost looked like his father. Naruto smiled, eyes shining blue and orange from the dim lighting of the sunset. “We’re almost there. I can almost touch Sakura-chan” He reached out in front of him as if he could actually touch something so close. “Peace is almost here.” _

 

Naruto worked so hard to reach his goals only for it to get ripped away from him. That goal for peace that kept everyone moving even when the war kept going. There was no end to the madness of it all, but Naruto was a beacon of light in this madness.

 

_ “Don’t give up now!” There was a wave of red chakra spreading through the field of chaos, every single one of the alliance was enveloped in the kyuubi chakra. It renewed their strengths and healed their injuries. “We’re almost there!” With a chorus of cheers they pushed on to face their enemies once again. _

 

So why was this happening now?

 

_ “Sakura-chan…” His eyes were beginning to dim but there was still a fire there. “I love you” Sakura felt tears fall down her cheeks and onto his face even as he reached up to wipe them away. “Naruto…” She was already running low on chakra. She couldn’t heal him, but she had to try! “Keep going for me, will ya? Spread our will of fire so no one would have to face this again.” She choked back a sob, grasping the hand still on her cheek tightly. “I will Naruto. I promise, but you have to be there with me! I-I can’t do this without you!” Her heart was hurting so much. She couldn’t watch him die when she could do something, anything! She had to! “You’re strong, Sakura-chan...it’s one of the reasons why I love you so much” _

“Damn it!” She punched the wall next to her, ignoring the way the rocks dug into her skin. Sakura breathed in shakily. She needed to calm down before she gave her cover away. Right now she needed every second she could get.

 

Focus, Sakura.

 

How was it possible for him to go back as well? Did he create a jutsu that could transport him to this dimension? Were there more people that came back?

 

The thought terrified her. If there was more people other than her, then her plans are over. She would have to start over in scratch. The future is useless if there are more people from the future like her. 

 

She would have to keep an eye out...and eliminate the current threat. Sakura groaned and dug her hands into her hair (still long since she couldn’t force herself to cut it. It may have been the start of creating her ninja way, but she was going to be a whole new person now...and long hair could be advantageous if she added some poisoned threads of ninja wire in it; the next person to grab her hair would probably lose their hand before they could use it against her). This was all so complicated. More than she’d like to deal with to be honest, but she promised Naruto that she would make it right.

 

_ “I will Naruto. I promise.” _

 

She breathed in deeply again. She could do this. She was going to change everything as best as she could, shannaro!

 

Securing the tanto on her back (it was one of the things her Kakashi had actually trained her in when Naruto and Sasuke had left, and she absorbed his lessons like a sponge. It was the first time he had ever acknowledged her).

 

_ “Yo, Sakura-chan” She had stared at him in shock. He hadn’t spoken to her in weeks after Naruto left (the rumours going around had said that he went back into the black ops, always coming back barely breathing). Sakura wasn’t really sure what she was supposed to say. She had decided to rest in the park after her training (painful and brutal training. She could have sworn her bruises had bruises after that last training a few hours ago), and she was studying the effects that poison had on the body; he had just dropped down next to her with his famous Icha Icha in hand. “Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here?”  _

 

_ She was so flabbergasted that she had almost missed the flash of guilt and hurt in his eyes before it disappeared behind his eye smile. Almost. “Maa am I not allowed to see one of my favorite students?” Sakura avoided mentioning that she was his only student now that the other two was gone. “I guess not…” He smiled again. “Well, I just came by to mention that I just happened to find one of my swords from my childhood. I used it all the time for kenjutsu.” Sakura felt hope fill her chest as soon as he mentioned ‘kenjutsu’ and ‘training.’ “I might bring it around training ground 7 around, oh I don’t know, dawn?” After that day, she had immediately jumped to training with Kakashi to train with Kenjutsu. It may have been one of her worse (more worse than taijutsu), but she was willing to learn. _

 

Sakura snuck into ROOT, careful to watch every shadowy corner. She had her chakra concealed to the point sensor nin would barely notice it.

 

_ “Sakura, do you know why I’ve brought Yamanaka-san today?” Sakura twisted his hands together nervously, biting her lip. “To boost up training?” She saw Tsunade-shishou give her a wry smile. “In a way, yes. With your looks no one would ever give you a second glance, they would immediately assume your weak.” Sakura winced at the jab. “But we can use that to our advantage. Yamanaka-san here is going to teach you how to become even more invisible. To the point where even the best sensor nin, like himself, will barely notice you at all.” Sakura wasn’t positive she could do it, but she straightened her back and stared with a fire in her eye. “I’ll do my best!” Tsunade gave her a fond smile. “That’s my girl. Now, get to work!” _

 

Sakura was going to use all of her training to her advantage. She couldn’t risk messing up, even the smallest mistake can make the largest damage.

 

She wasn’t going to let this man ( _ it was his fault the Uchiha died. His fault Sasuke became so twisted. His fault that so many innocents died for his greed. His fault that Sai could never genuinely smile. His fault his fault his fault-!)  _ get away with all he’s done in the future. If he came back, she was going to get rid of him before he made things worse. She couldn’t allow him to mess up any more of his plans. 

 

Sakura was going to figure out how he came back, and she was going to set this back into motion. Shannaro! 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, writers block sucks! I was hoping to make this chapter super long but my brain just came to a dead end :'< Ah well, I hope you guys don't mind cliff hangers (can this be seen as a cliff hanger?) and I hope it was to your liking! 
> 
> Don't hesitate to bring up possible suggestions for further chapters! I love everyones ideas and I may add them to my story too ;)
> 
> Quick pole for fun: What are your favorite ships? They don't have to involve Sakura.


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